We are witnessing an upsurge of revolutionary enthusiasm called forth by the
treacherous assault of the German whiteguards on the Russian revolution. Telegrams are
pouring in from everywhere expressing readiness to rise in defence of Soviet power and to
fight to the last man. No other attitude on the part of the workers and peasants towards
their own workers’ and peasants’ power could have been expected.

But enthusiasm alone is not enough for the conduct of war against such an adversary as
German imperialism. A frivolous attitude towards this real, stubborn and bloody
war would be the sheerest simple-mindedness, even a crime.

War must be waged in earnest, or not waged at all. There can be no ’middle course.
Since the German imperialists are forcing war upon us, it is our sacred duty soberly to weigh
our situation, calculate our forces and check up the economic machinery. All this must be
done at wartime speed, for any procrastination in our present situation would be truly
“similar to death". Hannibal is at the gates-that we must not forget for a single
minute.

To wage the war in earnest we need a strong and organised rear. Even the best of
armies, even people most sincerely devoted to the revolutionary cause will be immediately
exterminated by the enemy, if they are not adequately armed, supplied with food and trained.
That is so obvious as to need no explanation.

What is the state of the rear of our revolutionary army? Most deplorable, to say the
least. The preceding war has utterly disorganised our transport services; exchange between
town and countryside has been disrupted, and the direct and immediate result of this is
famine in the large cities.

Our army is radically reshaping itself under the blows of the enemy. The old army, which
was familiar with conditions of modern warfare, no longer exists. Utterly worn out by the
preceding war, and tired to death by three and a half years in the trenches, it is a
nonentity as far as its fighting capacity is concerned. The Red Army is undoubtedly splendid
fighting material, but raw and unfinished material. In order that it may not become cannon
fodder for the German guns, it must be trained and disciplined.

We are facing colossal difficulties. All local Soviets must immediately, following upon
their telegrams announcing readiness to fight the external enemy, report how many truckloads
of grain they have dispatched to Petrograd, what number of troops they are in a position to
send to the front immediately, and how many Red Army men are undergoing training. Stock must
be taken of all arms and shells, and the production of new arms and shells must be resumed
immediately. The railways must be cleared of bag-traders and hooligans. The strictest
revolutionary discipline must be restored everywhere. Only if all these conditions
are observed can we talk of war seriously. Otherwise, all the talk about the
“most revolutionary of wars” will be phrase-making. And
phrase-mongering, which is always harmful, may at this critical juncture play a fatal
role.

I am profoundly convinced that our revolution will cope with the colossal difficulties of
the moment. It has already performed an immense work, but if our cause is to be successfully
accomplished we must multiply our efforts a hundredfold.